Labour Blog

Blog Archive | Children

We have made clear that we don't believe there is enough space for any tax cuts in this Budget. Instead, we have argued for the construction of 5,000 public homes, and the funding of Sláintecare (a new national strategy to build our public healthcare system) as the central points of our proposals.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are having a phoney war over tax cuts that will amount to between €2 and €4 per week for middle-income families. We have said that cutting school costs, reducing college fees by €1,000 next year, eliminating hospital inpatient charges, and increasing the public subsidy of childcare would save families a lot more

Today during Leaders' Questions in the Dáil, our Spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs Jan O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach if#Budget17 will see a focus on Early Years Education. Deputy O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach what options are on the table in regard to Early Years Education and if those working in the sector can expect to see any increases in their pay.

Today we launched our plans for affordable and high quality childcare with Tanaiste Joan Burton, Deputy Ciara Conway and Cllr Mark Wall. Our plan whic h includes capping the cost of childcare for parents to €2 per hour by 2021 and an increase in paternity leave by three months.

As a father our candidate in Kildare South, Mark Wall knows the importance of good childcare provision "Today we are also proposing that parental leave is extended by 3 months, to be shared by both parents. We recognise that fathers should have the opportunity to bond with their new-born children – it’s why we introduced two weeks of paternity leave in the last Budget, which will happen in September."

Tánaiste and leader of the Labour Party, Joan Burton together with Minister for Communications Alex White, John Lyons TD and Cllr Pamela Kearns launched our ‘Standing Up For Working Families’ campaign this afternoon.

The campaign is comprised of a series of meetings which will take place across the country over the next two weeks to highlight the ways Labour has and will continue to stand up for working families.

Labour Women have launched their Let’s Talk About Childcare Report which was commissioned by An Tánaiste and Labour Party Leader Joan Burton to explore issues surrounding childcare in Ireland and to make recommendations that will feed into Labour’s General Election manifesto.

The report was presented to the Party Leader by Deputy Joanna Tuffy, Deputy Ciara Conway, Deputy Arthur Spring and Deputy Michael McCarthy along with representatives of Labour Women.

The working group was established in July 2015 to look at at progressive ways to improve childcare in Ireland. An online campaign was carried out using videos, online and offline questionnaires as well as public meetings.

"We in Labour believe that children should have the best possible start in a world that has become vastly more uncertain ad precarious. But this belief is not just a pious aspiration. We are today backing it up with a specific set of proposals in a childrens' manifesto that we believe will deliver genuine change for children and for families."

This is a once in a generation election. The choice that we, all of us, together, make on Friday, will shape our country for decades to come.

The Government that is elected on Friday, has immediate and urgent challenges to face. But the decisions it takes will affect how it is to grow up, and raise a family, and grow old in Ireland, years from now.

The choice that this generation makes on Friday, will truly shape the lives of the next generation.